Deflation “has hobbled Japan’s economy for nearly two decades, bedevilling policymakers despite drastic measures aimed at engineering a sustainable recovery.” For the sixth time, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) has delayed its 2% inflation target. This time until March 2020. Still, two-thirds of respondents in an August 1-16 Reuters Corporate Survey “saw the inflation goal as unrealistic,” with many of their responses further illustrating the complexities involved in overcoming deflation.

“Mr Trump’s campaign promises to rip up trade agreements and protect heavy industries like steel are running into the complex realities of international supply chains.” By examining actual U.S. business practices, “you encounter how the president’s economic nationalism is clashing with the complexities of what the label ‘Made in America’ actually means in today’s world.”